Happy sunny Tuesday morning! 

This past week was finally a return to form for both Sunday school and IMPACT. We continue to see new faces and it's awesome. Sunday school went well and we almost finished talking about why bad things happen to good people. We talked about attitudes toward hardships in life, and how we should respond to them. Often times hearing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel doesn't help at all, because it isn't always visible when you're in the tunnel. We discussed a couple different viewpoints, and how we can help people who may be "in a tunnel" without saying something that might hurt them. We should be able to wrap this topic up next week in the first fifteen minutes, and move right into our In God's Image question! Obviously, we think that sex outside of marriage is wrong, but we are going to try to see why some Christians are justifying it, and honestly assess if there is any merit there. 

IMPACT was awesome! We finally had worship again, even if it was a bit less loud than usual :)
We talked about Jesus washing the disciples feet, and really tried to imagine that story in a different light. Jesus took of the robes of a rabbi, and put on the rags of the lowest slave in the house. He performed arguably the most humiliating task possible, and his disciples were rightfully shocked. When we read that story we usually associate ourselves with Jesus, and our call to "wash one another's feet." This week we were challenged to relate to Peter. We often lack the humility to do what Jesus did but are arrogant in a different way: we refuse to be served when it is offered. Receiving from others can be just as hard as humbling ourselves to serve them. 

Next week we will begin talking about sex and how God intended for it to be a beautiful thing. This years focus will be less on how the act of sex works, and way more about the relationships that it is intended to enrich. I feel like almost all of our high schoolers know how it works, but have no idea how it is supposed to be treated. We will focus on the different needs of men and women, and how marriage sets us up for success as relational people!  By the time you read this, you should have received an email with some more specific information about what we are hoping to talk about and when. 

Good morning parents!

This past week was strange again, with game night moving because of sickness, and IMPACT starting late. I remain hopeful that someday we can get back into a more "normal" routine. 

Sunday school was great. We continued to talk about why God lets bad things happen to good people. We talked a little bit about our perception of what "good and fair" is vs what God might deem to be good and fair. We also tried to decide if people inherently deserve anything in life. If we walk into every situation feeling like we know what the greatest good would be, and that somehow it always will benefit us, we must be arrogant. 

That doesn't make the reality of suffering any less difficult to swallow. In light of all the "non-answers" we are talking about in Sunday school, I decided to change up what we were doing for IMPACT. While it is true that a lot of the most difficult and nuanced questions regarding faith don't have absolute answers, we have some absolutely beautiful truths that we can rest on too. 

In order to keep us grounded, we went back to the basics at IMPACT. Our time together was reduced slightly, and I thought it might be nice to just relax for a night and hear some good things spoken about ourselves. So we read some Max Lucado! We read "You are Special," "Because I Love You," and "Just the Way You Are." They all are wonderful stories brimming with truth that we so often forget or fail to recognize fully. 

In the midst of transition and questions that have tough answers, we can rest on the truth that we serve a good God who loves us, affirms us, and is constantly seeking us out. We don't need a special gift to bring to the King, we just need a heart that loves Him. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time soaking in those truths for a moment with our high schoolers. We all need those reminders every now and then, and I felt like this one was timely. 

We are gearing up for our In God's Image curriculum! Expect that to start the first Sunday in march and run for two weeks! Thanks for stopping by, and investing in your children! 

Good morning (or afternoon, or whenever you are reading this!) 

This past Sunday was a blast for me. Sunday school went well, and we were able to finish up our question for the week. We talked about how there are no "levels" of sin, and how God's grace is totally sufficient for us. We ran through a couple of imaginary peoples beliefs and talked about what we liked and didn't like. There were two takeaways I wanted students to leave with: God's grace is more than enough, and if you have asked for forgiveness trust that it has been given and live into that reality. 

Obviously, we didn't have regular IMPACT this week. But we did have a rocking prayer meeting! I was so proud of our students. I heard tons of familiar teen voices joining the chorus of people praying and I was absolutely bursting with joy. Your children are the future of the church, and they are already stepping up to lead in some incredible ways. 

Hopefully, next week we can have our "regular" schedule back! Thanks for checking in!

It's another Tuesday! 

This week we continued to talk about our sins, and the healthy way to look at them. Often we find that we can believe in our heads that we are forgiven by God, but we fail to truly move that into our hearts. This leads to a truly forgiven person holding on to their sins and trying to somehow "clean themselves" with hard work. That's the opposite of the Gospel! One of my favorite videos on this topic is by Judah Smith. Its SO powerful and if you have 8 minutes to spare today, I would really encourage you to watch it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwX_EpNR4CA

IMPACT was cancelled because Community closed, and the weather out to the north was not letting up. Next week, we will be cancelling IMPACT because we are having a church wide prayer meeting! We would love to see you and your student there!  There will be a time of fellowship afterward with Pigs and Pizza! 

The week after that, we are hoping to jump back onto track with hearing from Wyatt Boetsma! 

Thank you all for checking in! Have a great day!